The Belice earthquake occurred on the night of 14-15 January 1968. With a magnitude of 6.4, it struck the entire Belice Valley and the provinces of Trapani, Agrigento and Palermo. There were around 200 victims, with almost a thousand injured and 90,000 displaced. The towns most affected and almost completely razed to the ground were Gibellina, Poggioreale, Salaparuta and Montevago. Considerable damage was also recorded in Santa Margherita di Belice, Santa Ninfa, Partanna, Salemi, Menfi, Camporeale, Chiusa Sclafani, Contessa Entellina, Sambuca di Sicilia, Sciacca, Vita, Calatafimi, Segesta.
On the ruins of Gibellina vecchia, the artist Burri created a touching work of land art, the Grande Cretto, between 1984 and 1989.
